The Fury

2.5 rounded up

Honestly quite predictable. A lot of plot points borrowed from Agatha Christie novels but executed badly. Hated the “convenient” element that lead to the twist

In the beginning I was really captivated by the idea that a murder would be committed on an island and that you as a reader would tag along with the search for the killer. This however didn't happen, at all. Really eerie plot twist. Didn't like it.

How did this book have so many 5 star reviews? The plot was slooooow, the characters were unlikeable and I didn't even want to finish it. I was hoping for something redeeming toward the end and it never got there.
Very disappointing.

The thing I loved the most about this is how the story was told. We have an admittedly unreliable narrator who leaves out important information as he tells us about the events that unfolded on a private Greek island. He tells the same story a few times, and each time he interjects some more of the truth and some backstory as to how they all ended up on the island.

I found the narrator very interesting, and I enjoyed being in his head and hearing his thoughts. There is a lot of character analysis since he loves to analyze why people might do the things that they do. I liked the psychology of it, and I found both the narrator's voice and the plot very engaging.

Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon Books for providing me with an early copy in exchange for a review!

This was really good but there were just so many plot twists at the end that made it kind of unbelievable, even for a book.

I really wanted to like this, since I did actually enjoy this author's other two books, but this really didn't work for me. I was interested in the plot... an actress invites her friends to a “haunted” island and someone ends up murdered, but I really did not like the way it was written. Sometimes I do enjoy the “hello, I'm your narrator and I know everything that happens in this book but I'm going to tell you details along the way” but I don't think this author was the right person to write this particular story for me. I did not enjoy the narrator's voice and none of the characters really stood out to me as anyone. The thing I liked the most was the setting, but I do wish that this “haunted Greek island” was actually haunted or had some sort of supernatural thing about it that made it such a dangerous place to be. This book was less than 300 pages and only 7 hours on audio but it felt like I had sat down to read a 1000 page high fantasy novel with how slowly I moved through it. Normally something like this would only take me a few hours but this book took me DAYS to finish. My favorite thing about this novel was the multiple ties to acting. There was an abandoned ancient theater on this island, which was super super cool, the actress that planned this whole trip, and the fact that the book itself was written in acts like a play. I'm not sure if I'll ever give this author another chance after this unless he writes something that the general public is RAVING over.






Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review

It's probably not fair that I always have such high hopes for a Michaelides book whenever I go into it, but The Silent Patient is my favorite book of all time so I just can't help it!

That being said, regrettably, The Fury was very underwhelming for me. The twists were just like... “that's it?” Nothing remarkable about it imo.

Lots of people think this book is slow in the beginning but I thankfully didn't have that problem, though I think if I would've bit the bullet and read this in one sitting I would've enjoyed it much more!

That being said this book was fast paced for me in the first half and I was thoroughly intrigued, I really really loved it and I was sure it was to be a 5 star read! All of that changed in the second half where I was just left with anticipation fatigue because I felt like the story was being dragged on with not much happening. Until things did happen! But by that point I was just like “oh ok.”

Regardless of The Fury not being my favorite, I'm always looking forward to Michaelides next novel!

P.S. in the epilogue there's a MAJOR spoiler for The Silent Patient so if you haven't already I suggest reading that book before this one!

Dit is mijn minst favoriete boek van Alex Michaelides. Het was erg raar geschreven, alsof je een theatervoorstelling leest.
Je weet nu niet wat je moet geloven, omdat er bij sommige dingen aan het eind wordt gezegd dat het niet zo is gegaan.
Wel leuk dat er een crossover zit tussen de andere 2 boeken van Alex!

3.5⭐️

2.5 i have loved everything I have read from this author but this one was nothing special at all I feel like I have seen the story 100 times. 1 of the twist was unique. but at that point I really didn't care. This book also would give us information WE ALREADY KNEW so many times like 1/4 of the book was this and it aggravated me. I will continue to read whatever this author comes out with because of The Maidens but this one was a massive disappointment

If Alex Michaelides has one hater, it's me. If Alex Michaelides has no haters, I'm dead.

Y'all ready for another book where the plot is thin and you get to see Michaelides flex on his knowledge of Psychology and Greece?

I don't even think I'm gonna give this book a shot. After reading The Maidens and The Silent Patient, I cannot stand the way he writes women and thinks he knows sooo much about psychology and greek history. Please get a new hobby, thanks.

So where to even start.
Well it is easy to say I am NOT a fan of this book. Like at ALL. The story that we are supose to get I felt like we did not achive to get at all. The idea of what we are supose to get is really fun. I would love to learn and see this actually properly develop.
The way it was written somewhat felt like it was a 7 year old that just learnt sentence writing. We are told random stuff that COULD have been intresting, but then it is never mentioned again.
I understand that the author does enjoy being seen as unreilible and that everythng is a suprise. I just still feel that it was not properly done.
As a total this book was a 0.5 better than The silent patient for me. So a whole 1.25 star.

This was an interesting ride for a book. There were times when I was pretty sure of how it was gonna go but more info gets brought into play and gives the story a new light. I found the narrator of the story to be fun at times, like a friend you hang with but then more info comes out and then I'm not so sure. At times I got a little lost where things were but it all comes together for a clear understanding. Overall, a good read. Also there is a small surprise at the end (if you had the pleasure of reading Silent Patient)

Being my most anticipated book of 2024, THE FURY was everything I had hoped for and more. First off, if you have the chance to listen to the audiobook copy, DO IT! Our unreliable narrator is SO incredibly interesting and I feel like hearing it all from him was what truly took this story to an entirely new level. Michaelides hooked me with The SILENT PATIENT, kept me wanting more with THE MAIDENS and I will devour anything he writes... The entire story is told from our narrator's POV, who also happens to be one of the guests staying on the private island where it all takes place over Easter weekend. The epitome of an unreliable narrator, Elliott, embellishes and twists our story to the point where you are never really sure if he can be trusted. I devoured this audiobook and, as always, can not wait to see what Michaelides comes up with next!!

Oof.

It's too much of a copy of his first book, but with a main character who I from the very first page couldn't empathise with.

Apart from that the book was still good but in the end there were perhaps a few too many twists which led to the last couple of twists not being that powerful at all. But perhaps that was due to me expecting them right there from the beginning.

I just finished The Fury by Alex Michaelides and here is my review.

It's murder darling.... But is it really? Who doesn't love a little intrigue.

Lana Farrar was a movie star, a beautiful and talented movie star but she quit acting, got married and every year spends time on her remote greek island with her friends.

One night someone is murdered. Cheating, lying, hidden secrets and so much more, it all comes to a head one night. Can they figure out who the murderer is before they all end up dead?

Anyone who knows me, knows the Silent Patient was my biggest disappointment. I didn't know what to expect from this book but the premise sounded decent so I threw caution to the wind and cracked it open.

First thoughts? I was pleasantly surprised. The book was actually really well paced. I like a book that moves fast and slaps you with little twists here and there. I thought the characters were well developed but unlikeable but relatable and I need that in a thriller. I like how the book was broken up into acts. It made for an exciting read.

The book is narrated by Elliott. A friend of Lana's and he has his own role to play in the night in question. It was all rather clever. I enjoyed it a heck of a lot.

I did not see the end coming which might have made the whole book even more exciting. I finished it in one sitting because I just could not put the dang thing down.

I thought this was an excellent start to the year for me.

4.5 stars

Thank you to @celadonbooks for my gifted copy

I’m not going to lie, I couldn’t stand this book at first. I hated the first person narration (I wasn’t a fan of the voice and it just seemed annoying). I am SO glad I kept reading, though, because this was such a fully realized novel. I appreciated the themes of healing the inner child, love, and feminine rage. It didn’t quite get to 5 stars in the end because of the ending, but I really enjoyed this read and would recommend it to anyone who likes a closed-circle island whodunnit.

Okay so here's the thing...I think this was an entertaining and well done story, but I have an issue with the end/reveal so let me explain. 
I feel somewhat duped, while I think the end gag was cool I really hated it because it felt so pointless and hollow. Like the whole time I'm listening to this unwell man who has learned nothing and is kinda just whining after literally killing a woman...and I felt cheated and duped for that. If I'd known that was the story I really wouldn't have bothered. This is genuinely why I'm weary of reading stories written by men. So he just shoots the woman he supposedly loves, but we find out really has an obsession with and has weaseled his way into her life, but it just ends and he kills her of all the people in on the joke/game. That's super not what I was looking for and kinda ruins the whole thing if you're not on board considering the whole thing is his perspective and story. It's giving...women aren't people. I don't think the book is actually trying to make this point or condoning the behavior, to be clear. there's also a weird bit about him being kept by this writer and he was never actually a writer but stole her work based on their fucked up relationship? Ngl I was irritated and didn't get all that.

Anyway all that is to say, I know that technically this book deserves higher stars that what I felt for it, cause it was a well done story, just not one that I liked very much based on the reveal. 

I LOVED the narration style! The narrator made the story so intriguing. 

Least favorite of the three of his books. The writing style was very unusual. The voice was meta, but every act jumped around in timeline and was confusing. The narrator foreshadows a big event and nothing was really shocking except that Lana was faking her death. The affair was obvious but after that part it was strange. Also the epilogue was nice to see The Silent Patient Easter eggs, but spoils the book for those who haven't read in publication order but also seems like it was thrown in there just to do it.

Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid. None of the characters felt alive- all stilted and surface and what was obviously meant as intellectual mind games left me cold. I plowed through until the end but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a die-hard fan. My thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest evaluation.

The Fury has had a lot of mixed reviews and I am happily on the positive side.

I actually really enjoyed the way this played out, as this gave me some major Agatha Christie vibes. I also really love locked-room type mysteries and isolated settings, so for me, this was a fun read.

I would say that this is not much of a thriller though as it is a tad slow, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the story as a whole. I read this one as more of a mystery/drama and that seemed to work for me.

Definitely grab this one if you like Agatha Christie, and slower build mysteries. This one releases on January 16, 2024. I sincerely appreciate Celadon Books for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 stars // Mr. Alex Michaelides, you are my Riley Sager.

Each of Michaelides' books so far are categorized as psychological thrillers. While I think that's accurate, I do believe they are not the typical stories that most people think of when hearing that genre label and so they go into his books with one reading journey in mind and get put off when they experience a different one. I've read all three of his books (The Silent Patient, The Maidens, and The Fury) and each have been a character study first and foremost. The murder is always a tool to dig deeper into the character's minds which is very much what a psychological thriller is, but his stories really do prioritize that study over the mystery/investigation aspect. His books are mainly introspection. You have to find the characters and the themes interesting or you're not going to like them.

I think the reason TSP (my rating - 5) has the highest avg rating is because the murder mystery is more fronted while also maintaining the character study as a significant portion. Meanwhile TM (my rating - 3.75) perhaps has a lower avg rating because while the investigation of the murder is prominent, it is quite lacking in terms of quality in that area and the character study that he loves to do is a bit dull. TF is very little murder (doesn't happen until 50% and you don't go back to it until around 80%) and while there's definitely mystery, the mystery isn't focused so much on the murder but instead the characters themselves. The character study is clearly THE main draw for Michaelides as the writer and therefore has to be the main draw for the reader. If you start this book for the murder mystery part (understandably) and then find out you don't care much for the characters, you will not like it, which is why I'm not surprised by or mad at the low avg rating. If you tend to find Michaelides' introspective writing style and his unreliable narrators appealing (like I do), you might really enjoy this. If not, you probably shouldn't bother.

I also didn't read the synopsis of TF so I went into it blind. I think that's a big part of enjoying his books as well. Not because I think the summaries give everything away (because they don't), but because they might mislead you as to what the pacing and structure of the story will be, which could contribute to giving you the wrong mindset going in.

I've also read both TSP and TF via audiobook, while I did a mix of audio and physical for TM. I don't think it's a coincidence that TM is my lowest rated of the three. I'll be continuing to solely use the audiobooks for Michaelides' future releases.

Oh this was filled with tropes that could have so easily backfired. Michaelides takes great care in making sure they don't.

How do I begin to describe this book without giving anything away? Simple. One island. 7 people. One murder. LOTS of twists and turns.

Every time I thought I knew what was happening I got thrown a curveball. As I stated at the beginning, the tropes used were a huge gamble that ultimately paid off!

Thank you Celadon Books and Alex Michaelides for the ARC for my honest review!

The Fury by Alex Michaelides is out January 16, 2024!